We recently connected with Jennifer Bleakley | Owner, Huntress Florals and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer Bleakley | , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My most meaningful projects have all been simple, and involved connection or serving others. On the event side of our business, it’s always special to be part of a love story or a celebration through florals. From birth to death, it’s a humbling honor to hold space for others through our flowers. To be trusted during the most impactful days is a genuine gift. With our event floral leftovers, we leave tiny bouquets around the city for others to find, enjoy and share. It’s a beautiful energy exchange – in adding an unexpected glimmer of joy to someone’s day, my heart fills in return. For several years, I’ve volunteered at a local hospice designing flowers for patients and their loved ones. Collecting vases from the neighborhood to expand the roots of sharing. It’s the intention, the hope, and love that flowers bring to the most important moments in life. The reminder of our life cycle, seasons, emotions and cherished memories. Adding a little comfort during difficult and beautiful times is full of meaning and abundance. Before the pandemic, I also created a soul filling project named ‘Strangers with Flowers’. During my travels, I like to create a bouquet of local blooms and take photos of strangers holding them in their city. It’s a joy to witness their reaction and often mood shift. It’s a pause, a moment to connect, to share a few minutes of time and conversation. Some strangers even turn into friends from this experience. I’m excited to pick this back up once the world shifts again – we need it now more than ever! Overall, connection through florals breathes the most inspiring (and meaningful) life into our business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Like many others, the interests and hobbies I loved as a child began to disappear as I became an adult. After years of following a path that didn’t feel true to me, I eventually got motivated enough and began to make intentional changes toward a more fulfilling life. I’ve spent the last 10 years exploring, unlearning limiting beliefs, and redirecting my path. It began with a move from Philly to San Diego, reacquainting with the arts and areas I enjoyed once again. Eventually I found the courage to leave the ‘perceived stability’ of a 9-5 career to pursue a life amongst flowers. Now I’m happy owning this floral design studio, living authentically and more aligned than ever as I continue to incorporate more of the things I love (like yoga, travel, and mindfulness) into the brand. What sets Huntress apart is the spirit behind it. My professional background and experiences, combined with an empathetic nature and deep feeling heart, are woven into everything we create here. We listen to our clients and strive to create designs and experiences that exceed expectations and nurture feelings and memories that will last a lifetime. This is more than a business, it’s a connection to source that is present throughout all areas of life. It’s the meaning of flowers transcending our bouquets and reminding us of the simple pleasures in life. The awe-inspiring moments that bring us into the present. Our brand is full of the qualities that florals evoke for us – beauty, grace, strength, resilience, and life. We all carry these traits within us and we are here to remind you of that through our flowers, meditations and intentional offerings. I’m most proud of learning to flow within this business and to continue evolving over the years. I’m grateful for those that resonate with Huntress and hope to continue to heal, inspire and share light together in this journey we share!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The story I learned and carried with me for years is ‘you can’t or won’t make money as an artist’. As a result of believing that, I worked in a corporate environment for many years. My soul didn’t feel fulfilled and eventually I worked toward unraveling that belief and followed my heart. It let me to a career where I can now combine all of my loves and have been more successful financially than ever. It’s been a gift to finally be in a position of loving what I do, sharing with others, and thriving as well. I’ve learned that when you align with your true purpose, the universe presents opportunities that you may never have dreamed of or believed possible. We are gifted this one amazing life, follow your bliss friends!

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I honestly don’t know much about NFTs. When I first heard about them, it sounded like an exciting new area to expand into. As an artist and entrepreneur, my mind is always flowing, so I have a list of creative ideas. I even purchased the domain nftflorals.com last year, but haven’t done much more than brainstorming since then. It feels like one of those big fleeting moments that may sizzle out quickly, or it could be the future. I suppose time will tell and more research to be done until then! Should we enter the space?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.huntressflorals.com
• Instagram: @huntressflorals
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huntressflorals
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huntressflorals/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/YhuVlGqvK1A
• Other: http://insig.ht/huntressflorals

Image Credits
@studioluniste @meg_marie_photo @perlzy @brooke_ziegler_photography